Gold fell by R30 to R30,700 per ten grams on sustained selling by stockists against declining demand following the end of marriage season. However, silver recovered by R170 to R46,100 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units. Traders said sustained selling by stockists against falling demand on end of marriage season mainly pulled down gold prices while silver recovered on increased offtake by industrial units and coins makers. On the domestic front, gold of 99.9 and 99.5% purity shed R30 each to R30,700 and R30,500 per ten grams, respectively.

Onion exports fall to 1.21 lakh tonne in Jan

Onion exports in January fell marginally to 1.21 lakh tonne compared with the previous month due to lower export value realisation. Onion exports stood at 1.33 lakh tonnes in December 2013 as well as in January 2013. Onion shipments, however, have picked up since December 2013 after the government lowered the minimum export price to $150 a tonne from $350 a tonne. According to data compiled by the National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF), onion exports declined as the average export value realisation was R9,300 per tonne in January this year, much lower than Rs 18,600 per tonne in the previous month.